i just read two pretty good articles that i want to share.  the need to share comes from a decision i recently made to leave a church.  why did i choose to leave? plain and simple - the pastor.  he was abusive, condescending and self righteous.  he preached love, forgiveness, charity but lived none of it.  he judged, ridiculed, pointed fingers at and even belittled, from behind the pulpit, those who did not agree with him.  i choose to believe that those still in the church truly don't know, instead of the more likely that they are choosing to accept, and even condone, that type of behavior under the guises of "christianity."  there is no christian love in attempting to drag an entire congregation into a disagreement the pastor has with one church member - during a church service.  there is no christian love in a church member being told "no" when asking to have a former church member put on the prayer list - during a church service.  there is no christian love in making jokes about the people you have tried to get to come to your church and turned you down - during a church service.  i have come to realize this person has the capability of being the next jim jones.  i hope those that still worship there come to realize this before the kool-aid gets passed out.

http://brevia.com/Spiritual/Idolatry.htm

http://www.sharefaithblog.com/2011/07/bad-pastor/

Can You Spell Fornication?

Have you ever looked at a craigslist ad and saw this:  for sale sink and foset.  Foset?  Really?  Do you mean faucet?  I understand that the English language has some incredibly difficult rules, and not everything is spelled as it sounds.  I understand some people just don’t “get it.”  But, come on now, you have to have some minor computer skills to place this ad.  If you didn’t know how to spell the word there’s a thing called spell check!  I’m aggravated. 

But what really gets me going is that with the advancements in social media forums it is becoming more and more evident that the general public cannot spell.  For years now I have believed that the public school system should be disbanded.  Why? Because it’s a sham.  Very few people in the last several decades have come out of school with the ability to read, write, spell, or do simple math.  Wasn’t that the purpose when the public school system was started – to make an education available to everyone?  In a country with the resources we have available to us we should be ashamed of the poor quality of education we are providing. 

Admittedly, it has been many years since I have personally dealt with public schools.  When my children attended public schools the least emphasis was put on teaching them the basics, and the most on trying to teach them the government’s morals. 

There were days when I thought that if my kids brought home one more piece of paper on why you should not smoke I was personally going to throw a lit cigarette in one of their trash cans and watch the building “smoke” itself to death!

I tell this story often:  When my youngest child was in the 4^th grade her female teacher announced to the entire class that she and the teacher down the hall (a male) were going to have a baby.  They weren’t married.  Now, hear me out.  First off I could care less what you do as an adult, with whom, in the privacy of your own home. What I do care about is the fact that I am trying to teach my children what I believe is the morally correct solution to premarital sex.  I am not for it but I am also not against it, and I’m certainly not stupid enough to believe my children will never do it (they are MY children).  However, what I am definitely in favor of, if you choose to go down that path whether I like it or not, is using protection.  In this day and age it only takes ONE time of having unprotected sex to KILL you.  So here stands this woman, which has an influence on my child amounting to approximately one third of the day, blatantly telling a room full of 9-year olds that she had unprotected sex. 

The principal acted like I was a prude when I lodged a complaint.  Believe it when I say prude is never a word that has been used to describe me.

Anyway, I’m aggravated again.  I suppose I should look at the positive because my children did learn to spell some words they might otherwise never have come across in the public school system:  unethical, immoral, fornicator, intercourse,  Jezebel,  condom……….etc.

Pain

pain is a powerful thing. it can change you physically and mentally. most days i experience some kind of pain in my knees, back, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists and/or hands. i don't enjoy it. pain changes who i am and the person i want to be. it affects my moods - causing me to be grumpy and irritable. it depresses me. it turns my strength into weakness and tires me to the bone. pain can take you over if you let it.

on occasion, however, i am thankful for my pain. the pain in my hips and knees when i walk reminds me that if i had taken better care of myself i wouldn't be in this position. it nips at me to keep going even when i want to stop. it's the enemy, forcing me to march as if at gunpoint, screaming "if you don't move now you will pay later!"

and then there are the days that pain is my friend. when my hands hurt while brushing my teeth, typing, using silverware or the millions of other things you use your hands for, it reminds me of Jesus. i picture his hands nailed to the cross as he hung there. i close my eyes and imagine the agony. and then i say to myself, "he endured that for ME." he didn't cry out, he didn't whine or complain. he simply asked God to forgive us.

after visualizing this my pain usually decreases. call it the power of positive thinking or whatever you want. could i have done what Jesus did? never! but to be able to turn the negativity of pain into a positive - a reminder of who i serve and why - yes, that's a powerful thing.

Some things to think about....

So, you own your own business.  Great!  I hope you are successful and customers are beating down your door.  I bet you even think advertising will bring in more customers.  You have a large truck, or fleet of them, with your business name in bold letters all over it.  Yep, that's advertising too.  However, as a consumer, here's a couple tips: 

• Don't park your huge "Lawn Care Business" truck in front of the house with the worst yard in the neighborhood.  If you haven't pulled a weed in your yard for years or haven't mowed in months, your lack of attention to detail is NOT what I am looking for in somebody to care for my own yard.

• Don't speed or talk on your cell phone while driving your "Joe Contractor" painted truck.  This only shows me that A) you have no regard for the law, B) safety does not seem a concern, and C) you must not be very good at what you do if you aren't successful enough to afford a BlueTooth.

Just sayin.....